KGHM - Cedynia Wire Rod Plant powered by 100% green energy

In 2024, the Cedynia Wire Rod Plant was powered entirely by electricity generated from renewable energy sources (RES) owned by the KGHM. Green energy was also supplied to the Legnica Copper Smelter. This is another stage in KGHM Polska Miedź S.A. increasing the share of renewable energy in its energy mix.

RES for KGHM smelters

In the second half of May this year, INVEST PV Group companies redeemed in favour of KGHM Polska Miedź S.A. the Guarantees of Origin of renewable electricity generated in the years 2023-2024 with a total volume covering the entire demand of the Cedynia Wire Rod Plant and partially the Legnica Copper Smelter.

‘For the first time in the history of KGHM, the equivalent of the annual electricity demand of an entire smelter for electricity was realised using Guarantees of Origin, generated in its own RES sources. This is an important moment not only for this division, but also for KGHM as a whole’, said Piotr Krzyżewski, Vice President of the Management Board of KGHM Polska Miedź S.A. for Finance. ‘In the current year, INVEST PV Companies' energy Guarantees of Origin will be redeemed on an ongoing basis and the green energy will first power the Cedynia Wire Rod Plant and then the Legnica Copper Smelter’, he added.

Own energy sources

Reducing indirect emissions, i.e. those related to the use of electricity, is a key element of KGHM's decarbonisation efforts. The company's objective is to systematically increase the use of low- and zero-carbon sources of electricity and heat. Electricity from RES is intended to power 100% of the processes of KGHM's Main Process Line.

In Q1 2025, the Group's own energy sources, including RES, covered 39% of the total capacity ordered by KGHM Polska Miedź S.A. The Company's goal is to achieve a 50% share of ordered capacity, by 2030, through low- and zero-carbon electricity generation assets. The ‘Development of power generation, including RES’ programme implemented by KGHM, together with changes to the structure of generation in the domestic energy system, will allow CO2 emissions to be reduced by approximately 600,000 tonnes per year by 2030.

KGHM for the climate

KGHM’s goal is to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. In addition to the gradual shift away from fossil-fuel-generated electricity, KGHM is taking steps to improve the energy efficiency of its technological processes. The Energy Policy, the Decarbonisation Programme, and the Environmental Policy set out directions for decarbonisation in all areas of activity, with a particular focus on smelting processes.

Also, for many years, KGHM has been carrying out a forest planting programme in the Copper Belt, the aim of which is, among other things, to offset CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. In the last two years alone, the company has planted more than half a million trees and shrubs. Today, the Company actively manages more than 1,300 ha of forests.